Of Tohoku’s three major summer festivals, the Nebuta festival in Aomori is probably the most well-known. From 2 to 7 August, the city comes alive at night with parades, music, dancing and more. Central to the celebrations are the parade floats, which feature historic and mythological figures. However, if you look into going during this time, you will notice that hotels in Aomori are prohibitively expensive – if you can find any! Usually, hotels are fully booked almost a year in advance. If you want to see this spectacle, do not worry because I have the next best thing: the Nebuta Warasse Museum.

Aomori’s Nebuta Festival

Potential Origins

But what is the festival exactly? It is one of Japan’s Important Intangible Folk Cultural Properties, but no one knows exactly how it started. Legend has it that during a battle near the city of Mutsu in the 9th century, music and drumming were used to distract the enemy during a battle. More likely, it comes from Shinto celebrations such as the Tanabata Festival.

Even the name’s origin is not known, although it could date back to about the same period when an Indigenous general defeated a Japanese army in Aomori and drove them all the way back to Shizuoka Prefecture (think of Mt Fuji) until they were eventually defeated after a period of 12 years. The Kanji sometimes used (although the hiragana version is more common) refers to the beheading of this general, who was then covered in dirt. It is written as 根蓋, meaning “going back to one’s roots covered in dirt” (e.g. death). Stories say dancers stomped on the ground as the beheading was celebrated, leading to the dance style one sees during the festival.

Nebuta Today

Over the past 100 years, floats have changed from bamboo frames holding candles with with roughly painted works to wireframes, LEDs, and highly detailed works of art. Featuring mythological figures, politicians and celebrities, the floats

Nebuta Warasse Museum

The museum opened in 2011 and is located on Aomori City’s coastline near Aomori Station (note: Aomori has two large stations: Aomori Station and Shin-Aomori Station). From the outside, it looks like someone has put curtains on the building: red metallic-looking strips of metal cover the entire building, parting in the corner where the entrance is.

Costing ¥620 for an adult ticket to enter, you are greeted with lights, sounds, and, most importantly, the floats used in the parades. The upper floor (where you start) presents the history of Nebuta, including video and audio exhibits from previous festivals. There are also some historical images of what the festival would have looked like.

On the ground floor, you can find not only the floats but also live demonstrations of taiki drumming (which you can also try yourself), flute playing, and even dancing exhibitions at certain times of the day. A multilingual board tells you what will happen at which time, so you do not need to understand Japanese to participate.

Additionally, there are parts of floats, such as characters’ arms and legs, which you can touch, feeling the waxy, painted paper, such as the leg in the image above.

Getting to Nebuta Warasse Museum

Getting to the Nebuta Warasse Museum is the same as getting to Aomori Station, just with the addition of a couple of minutes of walking. This is the location; Google Maps is very good for public transport in Aomori.

An adult ticket costs ¥620 to enter. You can pay using cash, credit cards, or IC cards. You can also stay for as long as you like. Once you leave (through the gift shop), you’ll need to buy another ticket to re-enter.

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